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22 October 2010

Coussoule and Boehner, A Comparison

Voters say they want moderate candidates who will work for them, and not for the money bags who pay for campaigns. They say they don’t like pols who nix others’ constructive ideas just to score political points.

Voters in Ohio’s Eighth Congressional District have the chance to vote that way this November. They can elect a young, positive, well educated, forward-looking candidate, who represents the best of America. And they can send the whole House of Representatives a message by retiring one of its worst members ever.

You probably haven’t heard much about Justin Coussoule (pronounced “kuh-SOO-lee”). He doesn’t make the kind of news that rates headlines today. He’s never said he’s a witch. He’s never kicked anyone in the groin (except maybe in Army training) or vowed to “take out” a reporter he didn’t like. He’s never embarrassed himself by exposing appalling ignorance of how our country and our Constitution work.

Maybe that’s because he graduated from West Point, served over five years in the Army, got a law degree, and earned experience as a laborer, a manager in both small and big business, a lawyer fighting for ordinary people, and a worker in local, state and federal government. He’s done pretty much everything a man can do―and for years at a stretch―to know what makes our country tick.

Oh, and did I mention that he’s running against John Boehner, the Apostle of “No”?

But let the facts speak for themselves. All the facts below come straight from the candidates’ own official biographies, from a nonpartisan scoreboard of voting records, or from other links shown:

Military Service:

Boehner: Discharged [search for “Boehner”] from Navy training after eight weeks due to bad backCoussoule: Five and a half years as Army officer, achieving rank of captain

Education:

Boehner: Bachelor’s degree in business (Xavier University, Cincinnati)Coussoule: West Point bachelor’s degree, J.D. in law (University of Maryland)

Experience of ordinary workers:

Boehner: None listedCoussoule: Painter and roofer in father’s business, construction worker in own small business, helping workers get compensation for on-the-job injuries

Boehner: Township trustee, Ohio State Representative, Member of Congress (total: 26 years)Coussoule: work in city, state and local government as student; Capitol Hill internship

Position on health care:

Boehner: Out of 44 bills, concurrences, House-Senate Conference reports or veto overrides on health issues passed by the whole House since 2006, voted for only two: a defense authorization bill and a bill for infant mortality pilot programsCoussoule: supports “insuring the health and well-being of our citizenry through affordable and accessible healthcare for all”

Position on energy:

Boehner: Out of 26 bills, concurrences or House-Senate Conference reports passed by the whole House since 2006, voted for only three: a nuclear agreement with India, a bill for energy futures trading, and a bill to suspend filling our Strategic Petroleum ReserveCoussoule: “I am committed to eliminating the national security threat posed by our country’s reliance on foreign oil [by] . . . aggressively investing in and promoting American manufacture of alternative energy products”

Position on women’s issues (employment discrimination, equal pay, hate crimes, and school programs):

Boehner: Out of 8 bills or concurrences passed by the whole House since 1996, voted for only one, a bill on agriculture, rural development and the FDACoussoule: supports “fair, equitable, living wages for American workers”

Position on education:

Boehner: Out of 26 bills, concurrences, House-Senate Conference reports and motions passed by the whole House since 2006, voted for only 4: a motion to prohibit federal assistance to ACORN, an omnibus bill that passed 416 to 12, and bills for student loan changes and Head StartCoussoule: supports “making a high-quality public education available to all our children [a]s the foundation for America’s future” in several specific ways

Position on tobacco:

Boehner: Admits [set time to 1:16] handing out tobacco-company lobbying checks on the House floor; financed campaigns with tobacco moneyCoussoule: worked to enforce tobacco regulation and restrict its sale

Vanity in small things:

Boehner: picture on Website, in fancy tailored suit, looks at least ten years out of dateCoussoule: informal pictures of self in ill-fitting Army uniform, plus informal shots of wife (also a veteran) and kids

Coussoule is not in Congress yet, so he has no voting record. But Boehner is truly the Apostle of “No.” He talks a good line about cooperation and bipartisanship, but actions speak louder than words.

Boehner’s voting record in the House shows no trace of moderation or bipartisanship. Ever since voters put the Democrats in charge of Congress, Boehner supported only a handful of the measures that the House as a whole adopted, when he—as a key House leader—could have worked cooperatively to shape measures all Republicans could support. The negativity I found in my research of his voting record (summarized above) surprised even me.

Boehner’s voting record speaks for itself. It’s not a record of problem-solving or cooperation. It’s a record of obstruction.

Ohio’s Eighth District voters have a clear choice of new blood—a small-town family man with a sterling military record, a great education, and experience in everything of importance today: working, running a small business, helping manage a big one, and helping ordinary people get compensation for injuries and fight city blight. He promises to be a problem-solver, not a nay-sayer.

Let’s hope that Ohio’s Eighth District voters respect the promise of youth over the corruption of age and make the right choice. This is truly a case in which “throwing the bums out” would make a vast improvement.

Footnote: Votes on successful amendments were not included in the statistics in this post because: (1) their effect is included in votes on the measures that they amended, and (2) it was difficult to determine the nature or intent of individual amendments, which were so few in number as to make research into them pointless. (The nonpartisan scorecard reported only major amendments with recorded votes of the whole House.)

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This blog reflects a quarter century of study and forty years of careers in science/engineering (7 years), law practice (8 years) and law teaching (25 years). A short bio and legal publication list appear here. My pre-retirement 2010 CV appears here.
As I get older, I find myself thinking more like an engineer and less like a lawyer or law professor. Our “advocacy” professions—law, politics, public relations and advertising—train people to take a predetermined position and support it against all opposition. That’s not the best way to make things work—which is what engineers do.
What gets me up in the morning is figuring out how things work and how to make them work better, whether they be vehicles, energy systems, governments or nations.
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